Blog - Page 6 of 7 - Castle Point Rocketry

Carbon Fiber (almost) Composite

February 1, 2019June 5, 2020
by Nate

One of the really exciting features of our launch vehicle is the carbon fiber composite fuselage. Woven or braided carbon composites have structural properties similar or better than steel, at a fraction of the weight. Our team has partnered with A&P Technology to source the braided tubing for our composite. This stuff is cool!

The carbon braid we’ve selected from A&P has a braid angle designed to take much of the force the rocket will experience in flight. This allows us to make the whole rocket ultra light. In the coming days the raw carbon braid will be shipped to our manufacturing partner and infused with a resin to make a super strong and light composite. Stay tuned for more!

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High-temp Ceramic Coating Tests

January 30, 2019June 5, 2020
by Nate

The team recently completed the first round of testing with a new high-temperature resistant ceramic coating. This coating is intended to be used on the nose cone to lessen the effects of aerodynamic heating. A cooler nosecone is ideal, because it allows us to select a thinner and lighter material.

The team conducted a series of experiments to determine the optimal application technique and layering. The results of these experiments will be useful in determining what the next step is in testing this exciting material.

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Untitled

January 25, 2019June 5, 2020
by Dakota

Sometimes you just gotta step back from the rocket and just…

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New Year, New Injector

January 17, 2019June 5, 2020
by Nate

Two 85% scale prototype prints of the team’s new injector design

After a relaxing winter break the team is already back to work. Pictured above are two test prints of our next generation injector design. As we near the time when these parts will be fabricated out of metal, it’s especially important to make sure all the geometries we’ve designed are printable. By printing our parts on a conventional 3D printer we can see any features that might cause a print failure when we make the transition to metal. Up next, cold flow testing. Stay tuned.

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It Go Up, It Come Down… Slower

December 18, 2018June 5, 2020
by Dakota

Imagine it’s June 2019. Castle Point Rocketry is on the launchpad at Spaceport America.

The timer goes *beep*. The valves go *click*. The propulsion system goes *ffffshshshhhh*. The engine goes *bbbbhgggghgggghhh*. The rocket goes up. The engine stops. The rocket hits 100km. (The ground crew cheers.)

The rocket turns over and comes back down… and luckily isn’t traveling at terminal velocity when it hits the ground. Why? Our friends at Fruity Chutes, Inc.

After a rigorous set of tests carried out in our Global HQ on Stevens campus, we were satisfied that Fruity Chutes, Inc. had made us suitable chutes.

For those unfamiliar with our current design, we will be employing a double-chute system. Way up in the uninhabited region of the atmosphere, our handy nosecone will pop off and deploy a drogue chute. This helps make sure the rocket doesn’t tumble and snap in two. Much closer to the ground, our bigger chute (not shown) will snap out of hiding, adding drag to give our rocket enough air resistance to fall at a slow enough pace that we can track it and make sure it lands in one piece.

Thanks, Fruity Chutes. We couldn’t do it without you.

News

“Will It Fly?”

December 18, 2018June 5, 2020
by Dakota

It may be the the question we ask ourselves the most. (Behind, of course, “What’s for lunch” and “How’d your exam go?”) The answer: “Ask NASA.” (To them all, obviously.)

Most recently, it’s fallen to the ChemE team to answer this question. Initial assumptions of the chemical reactions out of the way, it’s time to buckle down and do some hardcore engineering.

And when you need to engineer something, who better to turn to than NASA?

Using a little-known software called CEA (made available online as CEARUN), we’ve been iteratively testing hundreds of fuel combinations and engine conditions over the last few days to comb through and find The One.

It’s not every program that can crank out 23,000-some lines of code in under five seconds. That’s just the NASA difference, I guess.

Sending a Signal Over 3000 Feet

December 7, 2018June 5, 2020
by ben

When determining where to launch, there were many regulations which we had to abide by. One of the challenges we faced was that the launch command could not be sent over a wireless connect. Instead, it would have to be sent over a physical connection for security purposes. Additionally, the mission control center had to be located 3000 feet away from the launch site. Our goal was to find a way to send a signal over a physical connection at a distance of 3000 feet.

I incorrectly surmised that I could send the connection over Ethernet. Upon further study, I found out that Ethernet cables have a maximum distance of 250 feet. I then concluded that the solution would be to get a repeater. This would total about 12 repeaters needed throughout the process, all of which would need to be hooked up to a power source. This is not practical for the goals we have set in place.

I then researched and looked into fiber optic cables. I could convert a signal from Ethernet -> fiber optic -> Ethernet. The fiber optic cable could send enough bandwidth over a distance of 3000 feet to satisfy pre-launch communication. After determining the exact type of fiber optic cable needed and the type of connection that would satisfy the signal converters, we directed our attention towards our future purchase. We are currently in communication with L-com and we hope that they will be able to supply the needed materials.

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Meeting with Launcher

November 29, 2018June 5, 2020
by Dakota

Late Tuesday afternoon, we met with Launcher: A Brooklyn-based startup building rocket engines. Cool.

After a few months of back and forth e-mails with Max Haot, founder and CEO, we knew it was time for an in-person meet-up. After all, what they’re experimenting with is the stomach of our project!

President Nariman Farvardin arranged a meeting with Launcher — who very generously was able to give the time of Max and two engineers: Andre Ivankovic and Luis Alcalde. Launcher and Castle Point Rocketry met for 90 minutes to exchange design ideas, team pitfalls, and questions. Kishore Pochiraju, our lead faculty advisor, and President Farvardin attended as well.

Launcher’s Chamber/Injector Design. Source: launcherspace.com

I’m happy to say that I think we all learned a lot. Our relationship with Launcher is stronger than ever — and Stevens was able to found a relationship with them, too! Furthermore, Launcher has pledged the use of their test site for Castle Point Rocketry’s model engine test fires.

Launcher’s test facility is located in Calverton, NY, a nice hike out Long Island — though not nearly as far as the team would be driving without Launcher’s help.

We’re looking forward to a great wrap-up to this semester iterating on our injector and chamber designs, and we will be checking back in with Launcher periodically from here out!

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101010

November 20, 2018June 5, 2020
by Nate

Things went from 0 to 1 real quick here at our global headquarters- our first binary valve, courtesy of Luke Colby from Triton Aerospace. Here’s a photo of the lil’ valve:

This valve is integral to our propulsion system, and will regulate the flow of RP-1 in the vehicle.

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Official Stevens Article

November 15, 2018June 5, 2020
by Dakota

What do Elon Musk, Gen Z, and Castle Point Rocketry all have in common? We’re name-dropped in an article recently published by Stevens Institute of Technology.

A story regarding Castle Point Rocketry was circulated on the Stevens webpage. (And on all of the bulletin TVs around campus!) Following a meeting the team had with members of the Division of Communications and Marketing and the Schaefer School of Engineering and Science, the team’s enthusiasm about reaching the Karman line has officially been adopted into Stevens canon.

The authors of the article met not only with members of the team, but also spoke with a faculty advisor and a couple of our corporate sponsors. It’s always good for morale to hear yourselves called “ambitious and innovative” and “pioneering!”

You can read the full Stevens News article (and re-watch our initial pitch video) here.